American Go E-Journal » Events/Tournaments

“Lightning tournament in five minutes!” called TD Keith Arnold outside the main playing room Monday night as players gathered to test themselves against the clock. After subsequent three and one minute warnings, Arnold lined all the players up along the wall according to rank and began explaining the rules. Most of them were common rules for a normal tournament with a notable exception: each player only gets 10 minutes on the clock with sudden death, no overtime. “If your opponent forgets to hit their clock, think very carefully about your next move,” Arnold quipped before counting the players off into tables of six players each. In the spirit of his speed tournament, the rules announcement and pairings are done in less than 10 minutes, and games commenced immediately. Choruses of laughter and surprised exclamations resounded as players did their best play as quickly as possible without making foolish mistakes, especially as the clocks ticked inexorably down to zero. “Oh my god, why am I so dumb!” came the plaintive cry from one table, followed by “What am I doing!” from another. Even AGA President Andy Okun (right) got in on the fun, taking a break from his numerous official duties at Go Congress, and hilarity ensued around the room as players explored the limits of their go abilities at ludicrous speed.

-photo (left): a player reacts to his mistake under time pressure
-report/photos by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

Lightning TournamentThe main playing area at the Go Congress is usually a scene of quiet concentration. Not Monday night, when it was a cacophony of slammed stones, slapped clocks and raucous laughter as go players tried desperately to play coherent games with only 10 minutes of basic time and sudden death. TD Keith Arnold extended a special thanks to Mark Nahabedian for graciously bowing out of the tournament to make an even number of players. See our full story on this year’s Lightning Tournament and a behind-the-scenes profile of TD Keith Arnold.Table winners:Yom Nonaka 5d, Tanimiya Yuichi 5d, Zhaoting Han 5d, David Glekel 4d, Konrad Scheffler 2d, Boris Bernadsky 1d, Noah Doss 1k, Jim Fienup 3k, Luke Belyeu 4k, Caleb Johnson 6k, David Baran 8k, Zougren Huang 20k.

Andy Liu and Wu Hao undefeated in Masters: And then there were two. After four rounds of spirited play in the 2017 US Open Masters Division, just two players remain undefeated: Andy Liu 1p and Wu Hao 2p. Wu Hao began the day by defeating 2016 Masters champion Bao Yun in a game that looked good for the defending champion until the late endgame, when the margin had narrowed so much that Bao was forced to launch a last ditch — and as it turns out, unwinnable — ko that cost him a large group and the game. In the evening round, Wu Hao forced Ryan Li to resign after just 150 moves. Andy Liu beat Eric Lui 1p in Round 3 and then bested Tim Song 1p in a dramatic game that included a late-game swap of groups. Check the Masters crosstab for latest results and top-board game records.

Tuesday’s Congress coverage: The E-Journal’s live coverage on Tuesday, August 8 begins with a preview of the day on the AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels at 8:30a PDT, and broadcast of Round 5 of the U.S. Masters top boards starts at 9a on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting around 10a. At 2p we’ll broadcast Bao Yun’s “Blindfold Go” game against Ryan Li on all three platforms.

Congress tournament recap coming: Watch the website Tuesday morning for our updates on the Lightning, Youth Lightning, 13×13 and 9×9 tournaments. Meanwhile, check the US Open crosstab for latest results.

Pro game commentaries, Masters Rounds 1-3: Click here to download the following pro commentaries:Jennie Shen 2p on the Round 1, Board 2 game between Bao Yun and AaronYe.Yilun Yang 7p on the Round 2, Board 4 game between Andy Liu and Albert Yen.Shirley Lin 1p on the Round 3, Board 2 game between Bao Yun and Wu Hao.

Evening LeagueThe Evening League – the evolution of the Self-Paired Tournament – has gotten a major tech upgrade in its second year thanks to TD Andrew Hall. Hall developed a web app for tracking played games and statistics that anyone can access for tournament updates. “I’ve been running a continuous version of the tournament in the Boston community since last year,” Hall says, allowing him to refine the tournament structure and improve results tracking. Visit evening-league.massgo.org to see the results of the first night of play, and throughout the week to check on player results and statistics. This year there are only four nights of scheduled play, but like last year players may play self-paired games and submit them to the tournament throughout the week.

13×13 TournamentA smaller than usual but still jovial crowd gathered for the 13×13 tournament Sunday evening. TD Jim Hlavka reported a few over 40 players, and expects that the lower numbers this year are a result of the lack of 13×13 tournament at last year’s Go Congress. Table winners: Brandon Zhou 6D, Yin Zhang 2D, Eugene Zhang 1D, Jim Conyngham 4k, Darwin Kim 4k, Maria Espinosa 9k, Josh Johnson 16k.

Women’s TournamentTD Lisa Scott also reported a lower turnout than previous years. However, she concedes that part of this is due to some women choosing to play in the Seniors’ Tournament, which takes place on an overlapping schedule. Regardless, Scott is pleased with the strong field of players, a good number of whom are 4 dan and stronger.

photo (right): Evening League TD Andrew Hall punches the clock.photo(left): Players smile over their tiny boards in the 13×13 tournament.

Monday’s Congress coverage: The E-Journal’s live coverage on Monday, August 7 begins with a preview of the day — and an overview of Congress tournaments with E-Journal Tournaments Bureau Chief Karoline Li — on YouTube and Twitch at 8:30a PDT, and broadcast of Round 3 of the U.S. Masters top boards starts at 9a on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting around 10a. Coverage of the Redmond Cup continues on all three platforms at 3p. Starting at 7p our coverage of Round 4 of the U.S. Masters will be carried on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting about an hour later.

US Open/Masters crosstabs published: Tournament crosstabs for both the US Open and Masters are now up. If you believe the wrong result has been posted, contact the Tournament Director at Usopen@gocongress.org.

Game records reminder: To get your game records added to the official US Open crosstab, email your sgf files to us at journal@usgo.org. Be sure to complete the game information with both player’s names and the game result. For best results, please send them in by 6p on the day the game is played.photo: checking US Open Round 1 pairings; photo by Chris Garlock

Competitions are underway on all board sizes at this year’s US Go Congress. Official Congress tournaments kicked off Saturday with the Pandanet AGA City League and the 9×9 tournament, and continued Sunday morning at the first round of the US Open and US Open Masters Division.

All players will have a chance to face off in nine other tournaments throughout the week, both rated and unrated, including: Evening League (replaces the Self-Paired), Lightning, North American Pair Go Championship, the Women’s Tournament, the Seniors’ Tournament, 13×13 Tournament, Under-16 Girls’ Tournament, the Die Hard Tournament, and Crazy Go. Youth players have their own full schedule of tournaments as well: The Redmond Cup, Youth Lightning, Youth/Adult Pair Go, Youth 13×13 and 9×9, the Youth Team Tournament, and Relay Go. Stay tuned for updates and results for all these events.

Now in its second year, the Seniors Tournament kicked off Sunday afternoon bringing about 35 players, many of them long-time Go Congress attendees and old friends, together for amicable competition for players over 55. As players gathered amidst warm greetings, many were not surprised to see familiar faces across the board. “Hey Betsy, you’re over here,” called Mark Nahabedian (left in photo at left); “I knew it!” Betsy Small (at right) replied with a smile.
photo (right): Seniors Tournament round one. Front board (l-r): Bart Jacob vs. Steffen Kurz; second board: Peter Schumer vs Miyoko Miyama.
- report/photo by Karoline Li, Tournaments Bureau Chief

Sunday’s Congress Coverage: The E-Journal’s live coverage on Sunday, August 6 begins with a preview of the day — and an interview with “Surrounding Game” filmmakers Cole Pruitt (right) and Will Lockhart — on YouTube and Twitch at 8:30a PDT, and broadcast of the U.S. Masters top boards starts at 9a on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary starting around 10a by Jennie Shen 2P on KGS and Shirley Lin 1P on YouTube/Twitch.
Coverage of the Redmond Cup, featuring top young players, continues on all three platforms starting at 3p.
Starting at 7p our coverage of Round 2 of the U.S. Masters will be carried on YouTube/Twitch and KGS, with pro commentary by Yilun Yang 7P (KGS) and Stephanie Yin 1P (YouTube/Twitch) starting about an hour later.

US Open game records wanted: If you’d like your game records added to the official US Open crosstab, please email your sgf files to us at journal@usgo.org. Be sure to complete the game information with both player’s names and the game result. For best results, please send them in by 6p on the day the game is played.

Record games, get stronger: There’s another way of improving your game at this week’s Go Congress, in addition to the simuls, lectures and lessons. Record games at the evening rounds of the US Masters, as the country’s top players battle it out. The rounds are Sunday, Monday and Friday, starting at 7p and running until 10p or so. No experience necessary but you must have your own laptop with the latest KGS client installed. If interested, email journal@usgo.org.

Got cool Congress photos? We’d love to see and post them! Email your best shots to us at journal@usgo.org and then watch for them on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

A tournament that began last October culminated in a 3-game showdown Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Go Congress in San Diego.

The Canwa Vancouver 1 team faced Greater Washington in the finals of the Pandanet AGA City League, having topped the A League over seven rounds since October. In the end, Canwa Vancouver 1 prevailed, adding a third City League title to their wins in 2014 and 2016, and collecting the $5,000 top prize.
Canwa’s Matthew Hu 1p (B, second from right) lost to Greater Washington’s Tim Song 1p (W; left) on Board 1, but Canwa’s Ryan Li 1p (B, right) defeated Eric Lui 1p (w) on Board 2 and teammate Bill Lin 7d (b) defeated Yuan Zhou 7d (w) on Board 3 to secure the win for Canwa Vancouver. Cathy Li 1p (second from left) captained the team.

“Each of these players took the maximum amount of time to play,” reports TD Steve Colburn. “They each seemed to be intently thinking during their one hour of main time and played most of the game during byo-yomi. It was very tense at the ending of each game as most of the players were hanging on with only one period of time left.”

The American Go E-Journal’s coverage of the 2017 US Go Congress begins Saturday, August 5 with live broadcasts on both our YouTube and Twitch channels at 2:30p PST with a Congress overview and intro with AGA president Andy Okun and Go Congress Co-Director Ted Terpstra, hosted by EJ Managing Editor Chris Garlock. Then at 3p PST catch the City League finals with Jennie Shen 2p, hosted by Andrew Jackson. After the finals, Garlock will host a wrap-up and preview with the directors of “The Surrounding Game,” which screens Saturday night at the Congress opening. And be sure to follow us on Twitter for live tweets from the Congress site in San Diego.
photo: Steve Colburn preps game recorder laptops on Friday; photo by Chris Garlock

After a preliminary tournament spanning nearly three months, Muzhen Ai 7d and Matthew Cheng 5d emerged at the top of the pack in the Senior (13-17) and Junior (12 and under) divisions respectively to compete in their first Redmond Cup Finals. However, they will face stiff competition against 4-time champion Aaron Ye 7d and 2-time champion Ary Cheng 6d, who placed second in their respective divisions. The first round of the best-of-3 Finals will take place at the 2017 US Go Congress on August 6th, with live commentary for the Senior Division by Eric Lui 1p and Julie Burrall 1d on the AGA Youtube channel. Learn more about the young finalists below:

17-year old Muzhen “Alan” Ai (at left) is from Dallas, Texas and is looking for his first Redmond Cup title after barely failing to qualify for the Finals last year. Despite sweeping the preliminaries 6-0, Ai told the EJ that he was “surprised to have made the finals after not studying go for a long time.” Ai started playing go at the age of 5 in Hebei, China after his mother accidentally took him to the wrong room of an apartment, which just so happened to be a go classroom. Studying with Zhao Yuhong 5p, Ai managed to achieve 5 dan in 3 years after barely passing the promotion tournament. On the last day of the tournament, he recalls, “I left early after losing my last game and thought I had no chance to get to 5 dan. When my mom was blaming me, she received a phone call from a teacher and was told that I was the last one on the promotion list.” Having moved to the US in 2015, Ai says that he “regrets not putting enough effort into studying go when he was little” but looks forward to playing some good games in the Finals.

15-year old Aaron Ye (at right) from Cupertino, California is a familiar face in the Redmond Cup, having won the Junior division title four times in a row from 2011-2014. However, this is his first Finals in the Senior Division, and he is looking to achieve the honorary title of Redmond Meijin, which is granted to those who win the Redmond Cup at least 5 times. So far, this has only been achieved by Eric Lui 1p in 2001 and Curtis Tang 8d in 2010. Going 5-1 in the preliminaries, Ye told the EJ that he is happy to have made the Finals, and would like to thank the AGF and the volunteers who run the tournament every year for so many years. In addition, he looks forward to having fun in San Diego with his go friends. When Ye was 5 years old, he stumbled upon go when a family friend’s son happened to have an extra spot in a group lesson. He currently studies with Myungwan Kim 9p and while he barely has time to play games due to schoolwork, he watches pro games while doing homework to keep himself in shape. Outside of go, Ye enjoys cooking and enjoying good food.

10-year old Matthew Cheng (at left) is from San Jose, California. He is qualifying for the second time this year, but only competing for the first. Last year he was busy attending the World Youth Go Championships as the US Junior representative and had to cede his spot in the Redmond. Matthew started playing go at the age of 5, and first learned by watching Youtube videos and then attending a local go class. In addition to learning from several teachers in the past (currently he studies by himself over the internet), Matthew also plays on IGS/KGS, does tsumego often, and reads many Chinese and English go books. Outside of go, Matthew also enjoys playing table tennis.

11-year old Ary Cheng (at right – no relation to Matthew) is from Sunnyvale, California and is the only returning finalist from last year’s tournament. Having held the Junior title for the last two years in a row, Ary is looking to defend his title once again. Ary started playing go at the age of 6 after attending a group lesson in a Chinese school, and has never stopped playing since. Currently, he is studying with Mingjiu Jiang 7p and practices by playing on IGS and doing life and death problems. Outside of go, Ary also enjoys playing table tennis.

The Redmond Cup is a premier youth tournament named after Michael Redmond 9p for dan players under the age of 18. Players compete in an online preliminary tournament in April to determine two finalists in both a Junior (under 13) and Senior (under 18) division. Finalists are given a free trip to the US Go Congress to compete in a best-of-three finals. - Justin Teng, AGA Youth Coordinator